BOULEVARD, Calif. — On Friday, July 20, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Border Patrol agents assigned to the Boulevard Station received a call from a local resident of Jacumba, stating that her 14-year-old granddaughter, a U.S. citizen, had become acutely ill while visiting Jacume, Mexico. The girl had a high fever and lost sensation in her legs before experiencing seizures and drifting in and out of consciousness. The family in Mexico learned that local emergency services were not readily available and the grandmother requested that the Border Patrol grant permission to allow transportation of the child into the United States immediately.

Acting Field Operations Supervisor (FOS) Bernardino Soto granted permission and coordinated with Cal Fire Emergency Medical Services to arrange the transfer of the ill girl at a designated location of the international border fence. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Boulevard Station arrived at the area and assisted the family in passing the girl over the border fence. Cal Fire paramedics evaluated and determined the girl needed further medical attention and transported her to Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa.

Recently, a life-saving humanitarian effort occurred in the same area when Boulevard Station Border Patrol agents helped an injured four-year-old United States citizen obtain expedited life-saving medical assistance. The boy was struck by a vehicle while visiting family just south of the international border in Jacume.

Boulevard Station management said, “These recent incidents demonstrate the flexibility and compassion Border Patrol agents display on a daily basis while performing their duties. These incidents also reflect the CBP core value of service to country.”

The U.S. Border Patrol is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of those in distress in the border region. Since October 1, 2011, Border Patrol agents have rescued 17 people in the San Diego Sector.